I have real concerns re: the…

I have real concerns re: the Provincial Policy Statement. I feel strongly that we should be building up, not out. Here are my reasons:

1) Southern Ontario has some of the top class farmland in the world. We need to preserve it. Agricultural groups have been telling the provincial government that allowing 3 severances on a farm would eat up the land on which food crops are grown. Agriculture is currently facing so many challenges (including aging farmers, climate change, soil erosion, finding enough farm labour, etc.), they don't need the additional challenge of farm severances;

2) "Farmers Feed Cities." We, in Ontario, depend on farmers to grow the food we eat. I much prefer eating fresh locally produced food because I want to support my local farmers, thereby supporting the local economy. Farms need to remain intact. In Ontario, we lose over 300 acres of farmland each day. This is a bad trajectory. It can't continue.

3) No one in Ontario would deny we need more housing, especially affordable housing. The current Provincial Policy Statement encourages sprawl. This is devastating for our farmland and forests. Build within urban areas. Intensify. Densify. This would cost much less because the infrastructure is already there. On the other hand, sprawl encourages bigger homes and the use of more space per home. We need to build compactly.

4) We need to keep natural areas intact. Nature's natural systems keep our air and water clean. Trees keep our homes cool. All this saves billions of dollars each year.

5) Keep our parks intact. We need these green spaces for leisure, relaxation, our mental health. Reducing the amount of money developers put toward parks is a mistake.

6) Restore the important, vital work of the Conservation Authorities. They do much more than flood control.

7) Learn from Indigenous Peoples who have lived within nature and the ecosystem for eons. We have much to learn from them. Live within our (ecological) means.